1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device useful for exercising a person""s facial muscles to improve muscle tone and enhance elasticity of the facial muscles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well known that as a person ages the facial muscles of an individual lose tone and elasticity and tend to sag. The loss of tone and elasticity of the facial muscles creates wrinkles and jowls on a person""s face. This deterioration in facial muscle tone and elasticity very significantly detracts from the person""s appearance and can cause loss of self esteem and even psychological depression.
To combat this effect of aging it is helpful to exercise the facial muscles in a way that prevents their loss of tone and elasticity. The normal facial movements of a person in speaking, chewing, smiling, frowning, and so forth do not achieve the required exercising of the correct muscles to a sufficient degree.
Various devices have been developed for the purpose of aiding a person in exercising the facial muscles to retain elasticity and prevent loss of muscle tone. These devices are held within the lips of a person""s mouth and operated by pursing the lips together to overcome a spring bias. Conventional devices of this type are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,671,260; 5,919,116; 5,556,357; 3,938,508; 3,528,655; 4,280,696; 4,196,902; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 397,173; and PCT/US98/06750. However, the conventional devices which have been developed for this purpose are uncomfortable to use and difficult to operate. As a consequence, while a person may use these conventional devices for a short time, they are very often set aside completely or utilized only sporadically.
The present invention involves a facial muscle exercising device and a unique method of utilizing that device. The facial muscle exercising device of the invention is comprised of a pair of transversely separated, lip-engaging members. The lip-engaging members have exposed ends that extend longitudinally outwardly from a person""s face when the device is properly positioned in a person""s mouth. At least one of these members has a transverse guideway defined in its exposed end while the other lip-engaging member has an elongated guide element that extends into the guideway. A compressed spring having opposing ends is seated in the facing sides of the lip engaging members and biases them apart.
To utilize the facial muscle exercising device, the user purses and unpurses his or her lips repeatedly. This action overcomes the bias of the compressed spring and forces the lip-engaging members toward each other. The interaction between the guide and the guideway ensures that the lip-engaging members remain in an orientation substantially parallel to each other.
Because the lip-engaging members have exposed ends that project outwardly in a cantilevered fashion relative to the user""s lips, the use of the device provides an added dimension to facial muscle exercising. Specifically, the force of gravity on the outwardly projecting, exposed ends of the lip-engaging members provides a mild-to-moderate stress to the facial muscles that produces a significant improvement to retention of facial muscle tone and strength.
As the user""s lips are pursed, the weighted ends of the lip-engaging members are forced upwardly, overcoming the force of gravity. The force required by the user""s cheek and jaw muscles to overcome the force of gravity on the weighted ends of the device improves the benefits of the facial muscle exercise. The added benefit of overcoming the gravitational force helps preserve the suppleness and smoothness of a person""s cheeks and jaw, and significantly retards the slackness of facial skin and the development of jowls that is so characteristic of the aging process. The use of the facial muscle exercising device of the invention aids the user in retaining a youthful facial appearance.
The advantageous benefits of the facial muscle exercising device of the invention may be augmented by the use of removable weights as part of the device. The weights are attached to the distal extremities of the exposed ends of the lip-engaging members that project out from the person""s mouth. These weights may be attached to the protruding ends of the device by either mechanical or magnetic means. In one preferred embodiment of the invention small magnets are permanently embedded in the extremities of the protruding ends of the lip-engaging members. Weights formed of a material attracted by magnetism can then be removably attached to the distal extremities of the protruding ends of the lip-engaging members. The weights remain in position due to the force of magnetic attraction exerted by the embedded magnets.
In a further improved form of construction the lip-engaging members are provided with opposing cheek-engaging ends that project longitudinally inwardly into the mouth cavity in a direction opposite the protruding exposed ends. Also, the cheek-engaging ends are flared outwardly in opposite transverse directions from each other to form convex, relatively broad, cheek-contacting surfaces. The provision of outwardly flared ends to the portions of the lip-engaging pieces that are located in the mouth cavity reduce the tendency of the device to fall out of the user""s mouth. Different degrees of flaring are more comfortable to different users.
Another important aspect of the invention is the use of the device while holding the head in different positions. Significant benefits are gained by manipulating the lip-engaging components of the device with the head held erect in a conventional upright, forward facing position with the user""s chin at a vertical level below the level of the user""s mouth. However, the facial muscles are exercised in a different manner if the user lies on his or her back in a supine position. When the device is manipulated while lying in this position the user""s chin is at essentially the same vertical level as the user""s mouth. The force of gravity on the weighted ends of the lip-engaging members then acts vertically downwardly. The facial muscles are thereupon exercised in a somewhat different manner.
The user""s facial muscles are exercised in still a different manner when the user utilizes the device with his or her head tilted far back so that the level of the user""s chin is above the level of the user""s mouth. This can be done by lying in a supine position on a bed with one""s head tilted far back out over the end of the bed. This can also be done by standing on one""s head. When utilized in this position the force of gravity tends to rotate the weighted outwardly projecting ends of the device downwardly toward the top of the user""s head, and away from the user""s chin. The force exerted by the facial muscles to overcoming the force of gravity on the weighted ends of the device with the head held in this position provides very significant benefits to the retention of facial muscle tone.
In one broad aspect the present invention may be considered to be a facial muscle exercising device comprising a pair of transversely separated lip-engaging members having mutually facing sides and opposing, opposite sides in which concave outwardly facing lip-receiving grooves are formed. The lip-engaging members have exposed ends that extend longitudinally outwardly from the lip-receiving grooves. A transverse guideway is defined in the exposed end of at least one of the lip-engaging members. An elongated guide element projects from the facing side of the other of the lip-engaging members. The guide element projects into the guideway of the first member.
The invention is also comprised of a compressed spring having opposing ends seated in the facing sides of the lip-engaging members. The spring is located longitudinally inwardly from the guide element and guideway. Preferably, the spring is aligned with the lip-receiving grooves so that it is located right between the user""s lips.
In another aspect the invention may be considered to be a method for a human being to maintain muscle tone and elasticity of the cheek muscles adjacent the mouth utilizing a facial muscle exercising device. The facial muscle exercising device employed has a pair of transversely separated, opposing lip-engaging pieces biased apart by a spring. The device is formed with mutually facing and mutually opposing sides. Concave, lip-engaging grooves are defined on the opposing sides of the lip-engaging pieces. The protruding, exposed ends project longitudinally out from the concave lip-engaging groups. A transverse guide rod is anchored to one of the lip-engaging pieces and extends between the mutually facing sides and into a transverse guideway in the other of the lip-engaging pieces in a reciprocal sliding engagement therewith.
The steps of the method involve positioning the facial muscle exercising device in one""s mouth with the lip-engaging grooves disposed at the corners of one""s mouth. The user then repetitively purses his or her lips to contract the cheek muscles to overcome the bias of the spring and the force of gravity on the exposed ends of the facial muscle exercising device. As previously indicated, different benefits of the practice of the method are achieved when the exercise is performed with the head held in a position in which one""s chin is at a vertical level below the mouth, at the same vertical level as the mouth, or at a vertical level above the level of the mouth.
The invention may be described with greater clarity and particularity by reference to the accompanying drawings.